On a sunny and windy August day in 2016, I visited a coastal town called Lyme Regis in the county Dorset, England. This area is part of what is known as the Jurassic Coast which stretches approximately 150 km from Exmouth to Studland Bay.
An area well known for its Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Period fossils. From 1799 till her death in 1847 Lyme Regis was home to fossil hunter/palaeontologist
Mary Anning. Her remains now buried in the graveyard of St. Michael the Archangel church along with that of her brother Joseph and three Anning children who died in infancy. She is known for finding Ichthyosaurs and Plesiosaurs along with flying reptiles, fish, ammonites, and other marine fossils.
I include closeup pictures from the base of the tombstone where visitors have left ammonite and belemnite fossils.
A short walk from the grave one can look out over coast line and see the cliffs that still bear fossils like the ones she used to venture out to collect.
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Portrait of Mary Anning at British Museum
Source is Wikipedia Commons
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It is possible later in 2020, a drama entitled
Ammonite starring Kate Winslet as Mary Anning will be released. See IMDB page link below:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7983894/
If you visit the
Find A Grave web site page for Mary Anning photo section you can see an April 2019 image. The stone has cleaned and the engraved text enhanced. The contrast is amazing.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34949489/mary-anning/photo
